Molecular characterization of ovine parapoxviruses in Türkiye: phylogenetic overview

The genus Parapoxvirus of the family Poxviridae is the causative agent of the Ecthyma Contagiosum (Orf virus) disease, which is widespread in sheep and goats around the world. The Orf virus is also recognized as an occupational zoonotic agent, causing auto limited lesions in humans. The Orf virus has an affinity for epithelial tissue and causes proliferative lesions around the lips and nose, udder, and hairless areas of the skin. In this study, the positivity of the virus was investigated by PCR in samples collected from several provinces in different regions of eastern and western Türkiye. Molecular characterization of the samples identified as positive by PCR was performed based on the B2L gene region. A phylogenetic tree was constructed by comparing the obtained partial B2L gene sequences with the reference parapoxvirus strains obtained from GenBank. It was found that the strains obtained in the study were close to Iranian and Sudanese strains. When the deduced amino acid sequences of the strains obtained with the reference strains taken from GenBank were compared, amino acid changes were detected at two different points. The phylogenetic map showed that different variants were likely to have circulated in different parts of the country. This study provided up–to–date information on Orf virus strains circulating in different regions of the country.